5. Solo on Grass

Richard text me one early morning, “want to fly?” I was out of bed in a single snort. I didn’t even get my hair brushed. “What are we going to do today?!” I asked, meeting Richard at the hangars. Richard pulled out the foggles explaining that I will need to get some time learning instrument flying.

Shoot.

Foggles are goggles that make everything foggy except for the airplane instrument panel - Foggles! It was not exactly what I hoped for but I was still excited because I still think it’s a fun challenge to try to fly the airplane with the instruments. He mentioned something about hoping I like surprises. I was under the hood, in the zone, just getting the hang of the game following all sorts of heading and altitude changes when Richard said “ok, take your foggles off and look outside.” We were over a small lake in a hilly area I’ve never been. Wow, where are we?

This was the most awesome surprise ever. He explained where we were, all the relevant details about an airstrip called Seeley Lake to the north, and that I could land there if I would like. YES! I made the radio calls, and he coached me through the pattern and the landing. After a donut picnic on the horizontal stabilizer, Richard said I should go do this one solo.

WHAT! I was so excited. No hesitation or trepidation this time, I was so ready to solo my soft field skills. It was glorious. I flew the pattern just like we did, this landing even softer than the last.

Bedhead

Post-solo donut!